Harrison Declines WBC Invite

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We've talked about it a lot over the past few days, the World Baseball Classic gets going before we know it and rosters for different countries are beginning to fill out.

Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish told Japan he was not interested in pitching for his country in the event, which doesn't end until just a couple of weeks before the Rangers open the season on March 31 in Houston. Players who participate will also miss part of spring training.

Now, another Rangers pitcher has turned down an invite as Matt Harrison declined an invitation from Team USA and manager Joe Torre to play in the tournament.

Harrison, who is establishing himself as one of the game's best starting pitchers, had a career year in 2012 with a 3.29 ERA and an 18-11 record while putting up 213 innings of work. It was the number of innings that made Harrison decide against accepting the invite.

“I decided to respectfully decline due to the number of innings I threw last year,” Harrison said in a text message to The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant on Monday. “It’s a true honor and very humbling to be asked. Hopefully, I get the opportunity again.”

Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre have already accepted invitations to play for the Dominican Republic, as has Elvis Andrus (Venezuela). There are currently no Rangers set to play for Team USA.